The Canadian economy started off strong in the second quarter, extending a streak of better-than-expected growth and boosting the likelihood of another Bank of Canada rate hike, Bloomberg News reported. Preliminary data suggest gross domestic product rose 0.2% in April, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa, led by mining, oil and gas, transportation and real estate. That followed a flat reading in the previous month, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% contraction in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The bankruptcy liquidator in charge of Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian unit is set to receive offers for its loan book on Monday, and the biggest asset is a loan to e-commerce lender Clear Finance Technology Corp., Bloomberg News reported. Toronto-based Clear Finance, which operates under the name Clearco, is an alternative lender that offers cash advances to e-commerce and software startups. It’s struggling amid the tech sector downturn after its cost of capital jumped. The company has done extensive staff cuts and exited markets outside North America.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem suggested April's inflation increase - the first in 10 months - was an anomaly and said consumer prices would continue to come down, prompting markets to pare expectations for another hike, Reuters reported. The central bank has been warning Canadians that rates could go higher. April's unexpected acceleration in inflation to 4.4% from 4.3% in March has some economists forecasting a hike later this year. "Inflation has come down. It is coming down.

Inflation unexpectedly reaccelerated in Canada but core measures continued to ease, potentially giving the central bank room to keep rates on pause as it waits for the tight labor market to cool, Bloomberg News reported. The consumer price index rose 4.4% in April from a year ago, the first increase in the rate of headline inflation since June 2022, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa. That’s faster than the 4.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg survey of economists, and up from 4.3% in March.

Signs of recovery in Canada's housing market after a year-long slump, just as higher borrowing costs are expected to slow much of the rest of the economy, could raise inflation and delay a shift by the central bank to interest rate cuts, analysts said, Reuters reported. The housing market's upturn comes after the Bank of Canada paused its interest rate hiking campaign last month, leaving the benchmark rate at a 15-year high of 4.50% since January.

Former users of the bankrupt Canadian crypto exchange Quadriga CX will soon get a check for 13% of their claim, according to a notice to creditors published late Friday by accounting giant EY, CoinDesk.com reported. Documents from EY shows Quadriga’s estate owes CAD $303.1 million ($222.3 million) across 17,648 claims from creditors, including Canada Post and the country’s tax authority, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Filings show that there are 15 claims with a value greater than CAD $1 million, and 28 claims with a value between CAD $500,000 and $999,999.

Binance said on Friday it was withdrawing from Canada, weeks after the country issued a series of new guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges including investor limits and mandatory registrations, Reuters reported. Canada has tightened regulations for crypto asset trading platforms in recent months, with the introduction of a pre-registration process. The companies that do not adhere to the rules will face potential enforcement action, according to the website of the Ontario Securities Commission.

Manitoba (Canada) could see a spurt in people filing for bankruptcy over the summer months, an insolvency trustee warns, CBC.ca reported. New data from the federal government shows 200 individual Manitobans filed for bankruptcy in the first quarter of this year, which is up from the first quarters of 2021 and 2022. And experts say the second quarter could see even more.

The Bank of Canada said on Monday it launched public consultations on the features that could be included in a digital Canadian dollar, in a exploratory move to gauge the viability of a digital version of the currency, Reuters reported. "As the world becomes increasingly digital, the Bank - like many other central banks - is exploring a digital version of Canada's national currency," the central bank said in a statement. The consultation opened on Monday and runs until June 19. Read more.

The Canadian government is starting a month of consultations on how to better protect post-secondary institutions when they become insolvent, so they can avoid the same fate at Laurentian University, CBC.ca reported. In February 2021 the Sudbury, Ont. university filed for insolvency. Laurentian became the first public university to use the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to restructure after its financial troubles. Through that process, which has previously been used for corporate restructuring, Laurentian cut 69 programs, and nearly 200 staff and faculty members lost their jobs.